Cement News tagged under: Pakistan

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Pakistan FY14-15 Budget set to positively impact on the cement sector

04 June 2014, Published under Cement News

Pakistan’s FY14-15 Budget, announced yesterday by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, is being regarded as largely positive for the country’s cement industry as it includes a number of infrastructures and energy-related projects which look set to spur demand. It is hoped that a 24 per cent increase in higher Public Sector Development Programme spending (PSDP), investments in irrigations, improving the road network and housing projects will accelerate cement demand from the current growth rate of t...

Positive outlook for Pakistan producers

03 June 2014, Published under Cement News

The government of Pakistan said yesterday it expects the domestic cement industry to prosper during fiscal FY14-15, led by improvements in local pricing and demand. According to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2012-13 released yesterday, due to improving cement prices this year, the outlook for most cement players is positive for the next fiscal which begins in July 2014. Local cement dispatches are also expected to increase due to improvements in Public Sector Development government expe...

APCMA budget proposals

02 June 2014, Published under Cement News

The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association has proposed a number of incentives to facilitate the industry ahead of tomorrow’s 2014-15 Budget announcement. Among the budget proposals from the APCMA, it has called on the government to abolish the Federal Excise Duty on cement (currently FED400/t) in a phased manner, and reduce general sales tax (GST) from 17 to 12.5 per cent. Officials from the country’s Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) stated that the government promised cement ma...

Pakistan exports decline in 10MFY13-14

28 May 2014, Published under Cement News

Pakistan export volumes and revenues have continued to decline in the first 10 months of the current fiscal, mainly due to a decline in shipments to Afghanistan. On a more positive note, despite the disappointing performance on the export front, utilisation rates have climbed to a five-year high. During the July 2013-April 2014 period, Pakistan exported 6.92Mt of cement on revenues of US$415.03m compared to 7.298Mt at US$468.74m. This translates to YoY falls of 5.18 and 11.46 per cent in t...

Several companies show interest in Lafarge Pakistan

12 May 2014, Published under Cement News

In response to a notice sent to the Karachi Stock Exchange by Lafarge SA to divest its entire holding (75.86 per cent) in Lafarge Pakistan Cement Limited (LPCL), local as well as international players have shown interest in acquiring the company. While the acquisition remains in the due diligence phase at the moment, seven companies/groups are currently believed to be vying for LPCL namely: Lucky  Cement, DG Khan Cement, House of Habib, Vision Holdings, Pioneer Cement, Bestway Cement and K...

Pakistan: utilisation rates reach 5-year high

09 May 2014, Published under Cement News

Cement despatches in Pakistan reached an all time high of 3.21Mt during April 2014 raising the industry hopes of a long awaited turnaround. The sector has achieved capacity utilisation of 75.21 per cent during first 10 months of the current fiscal year – the highest level achieved during last five years – and industry experts expecting that this will be increased to 80 per cent by the end of June 2014. Although the overall increase in the cement despatches is only 1.17 per cent, domestic sa...

A trio of producers eye Lafarge Pakistan Cement

08 May 2014, Published under Cement News

A three-way struggle looms for Lafarge Pakistan (LPCL) as Kohat Cement is the latest party to announce its interest in the assets of the only major cement producer in Pakistan. Kohat Cement's interest follows that of DG Khan Cement and Bestway Cement who are both keen on the purchase. The divestment of LPCL follows 'the merger of equals' to establish LafargeHolcim, which will become a giant cement producer in more than 90 countries with a balanced exposure to both developed and high growth m...

Pakistan cement industry trebles FDI

07 May 2014, Published under Cement News

The Pakistan cement sector has received foreign direct investment (FDI) to the tune of US$21.5m from July 2013-March 2014, more than trebling the US$6.3m received during the comparative period the previous year, according to the State Bank of Pakistan. In March alone, FDI into the cement industry reached US$2.2m. While investment fell from US$102.5m in FY08 to US$32.6m one year later, in FY11 it recovered, rising to US$65.2m. However, in FY12, the industry did not receive any FDI. The ...

Pakistan: Kohat Cement Co interested in 76% Lafarge Pakistan stake

05 May 2014, Published under Cement News

Pakistan's Kohat Cement Company announced that it will participate in the bidding process for the acquisition of 1.1bn ordinary shares of PKR10 each of Lafarge Pakistan, representing 75.86 per cent of the total issued and paid-up share capital of Lafarge Pakistan, according to local news service The News. Vision Holdings Middle East, which holds a 47 per cent stake in Pioneer Cement, and DG Khan Cement have also expressed interest in acquiring the stake from Lafarge subsidiary Sofima SA. ...

Pakistan producers raise cement prices

05 May 2014, Published under Cement News

Cement prices in Pakistan have increased by PKR10/50kg bag from PKR525 (US$5.31) to PKR535. Cement companies, including DG Khan Cement, Lucky Cement and Falcon Cement have raised the price of a 50kg bag from PKR515.20 to PKR525.35. In June 2013, a 50kg bag cost PKR450 but after the budget announcement it rose to PKR500 in July as the sales tax regime was changed. Cement makers that are dependent on power from the national grid have attributed the rise to a hike in power rates by Nepra....